Christmas
by grendels
Summary: /FF100/ #92: Christmas- Twas the night before Christmas and all through the Institue.../implied JxC; A/M./


**Title:** **Christmas  
Fandom: The Mortal Instruments  
Characters:Isabelle, Clary, Jace, Alec, Magnus, Max, mentiones of Luke, Jocelyn, Maryse and Robert  
Prompt:#92: Christmas  
Word Count:1,219  
Rating:K+  
Summary:And although it's been said, many times, many ways, merry Christmas to you.  
Author's Notes: well, not much to say about this one. There's no symbolism or inner meaning to it. It's just Clary and the gang home for Christmas. It's set at the Christmas the year the CoB and CoA take place, so I'm assuming that all the nasty business with Valentine is tied up, but I picture that Jocelyn was still pretty under the weather from being comatose and all. Happy Holidays, everyone!**

**P.S: Okay, I lied. I'm going to start posting them separatly. It's easier to manage everything that way, strangly enough.**

* * *

"Clary!" Isabelle cried as the doors to the elevator shrieked open. 'You're here!" One look at Isabelle and Clary knew that she had severely underdressed for the occasion. Clad in a red cocktail dress with a shiny green material trimming the hem, green high heels and an ornate up-do, Isabelle looked ready for a socialite party, while Clary had simply pulled on a pair of corduroys and a red tunic shirt with a pattern of miniscule snowflakes on it. Christmas at the Fray household was never a very large occasion. Clary, her mother and Luke all ate a semi-large meal together and watched Frosty the Snowman and exchanged gifts. She had never felt the need to dress up for it and Isabelle's attire made her think that maybe it was a bigger thing then Clary was used to. Rubbing her free hand against her pant leg, she held out the dish Jocelyn had insisted she bring along.

"You brought something!" the older girl shrieked happily, gracefully taking the platter from her and strutting off towards the kitchen, Clary following in pursuit. "Guys! Clary is here!" Isabelle announced, setting the dish on the table before flouncing out the door. Clary stayed behind in the kitchen, taking a seat at the table.

"Oh, you." A voice punctuated from the doorway. Clary swiveled around in her chair and was found no one other than Magnus Bane leaning against the doorframe. He certainly hadn't had any qualms about getting into the holiday spirit. His normally violet hair was striped red and green and had various ornaments, originally meant for a Christmas tree, Clary supposed, hooked into it. She momentarily wondered how much hairspray went into sculpting such a hairstyle. She was slightly surprised that the warlock was attending Christmas at the Institute until Alec appeared in the doorway next to him. "Hey Clary." He raised his hand in greeting and she waved back, glad that they had managed to silence the unspoken hostility between them, if only for the holiday.

"When Isabelle said that Jace could invite anyone he wanted, I didn't even think that it would mean you." Magnus observed matter-of-factly. Clary did her best to convince herself that he meant all the best with that statement.

"Yeah, well, my mom still isn't feeling very well after everything that's been going on and it's a full moon tonight-" She gestured upwards. "So hanging out at Luke's wasn't an option. I figured that Jace and I should start spending some quality family time together." Alec began to cough violently into his fist, but when Clary listened harder, it appeared that it was the sort of cough that came out when someone was desperately trying to hide that fact that they were laughing very hard.

"Are you alright?" Magnus asked, placing a hand on Alec's back, suddenly very concerned. Alec waved him off, pounding his own chest with his fist. He assured Magnus that he was fine and it only took a second or two of awkwardness before Magnus spoke up.

"Well, Clarissa, it has been lovely talking to you but, frankly, we've run out of things to talk about. Bye." And with that, he turned on his heel and grabbed Alec's tie, dragging him behind as he rushed out of the room. Clary giggled as she watched them go and turned back around in her chair.

No sooner than she had, a voice arose again from the doorway. "Hey Clary." She turned around again, her face breaking into a grin when she saw who was standing there. "Jace." Her voice sounded breathy in her ears and she winced at the sound.

"Merry Christmas." He offered with a shrug, a smile quirking the corner of his mouth. Clary gave him the same greeting back and was just about to tell him that she had gotten a present for him when Isabelle's voice rang out from down the hall.

"JACE! CLARY! ALEC! MAGNUS! MAX! DINNER TIME!" Jace shot Clary a look and rolled his eyes before tentatively offered out a hand to help her off her chair. Resisting the urge to wave him off, she took it, surprised at the soft look on his face. Something was falling away, whatever shell he usually kept on was cracking, breaking off like paint flecking from a ceiling. Revealing him little by little as time wore on.

Jace lead her down the hall to a door she had never really noticed. It had always been there but she had never really gotten a chance to take a peer inside. The door stood open now, revealing behind it a sprawling green dining room with a large mahogany table. Huge bunches of tinsel and silver ornaments had been heaped everywhere, courtesy of Isabelle and Max, Clary supposed. The table was set and a huge platter sat in the middle, with various other smaller dishes set around it.

"Did you make all this, Isabelle?" Clary asked, trying to sound nonchalant. If all this food was cooked at the hands of Isabelle, Clary wasn't sure she could make it through the meal.

Alec did that cough/laugh thing again and Isabelle shoot him a look, her lips a thin line. "Actually, Clary, I didn't really have time to cook all this myself, seeing as I had to go save the Daring Duo over here," she nodded her heads towards Jace and Alec. "Again from imminent death. So I picked most of the stuff up from the grocery store."

"Except the stuffing." Jace cut in. "She made it from scratch, so if you find a piece of a house plant or something in there, don't be surprised." Isabelle glared at him, her hand involuntarily curling into a fist. Out of seemingly nowhere, Max piped up. Clary jumped slightly, she had almost forgotten that he was there.

"Let's sit down!" he suggested, tugging on Jace's sleeve.

"Before you two kill each other." Magnus drawled, taking a seat at the table. Alec sat down next to him and the rest of them began to settle in. Clary, who had ended up between Isabelle and Jace noticed that there was two empty seats at the head of the table.

"Where are your parents?" she asked Isabelle, who was staring melancholically at the empty chairs.

"Idris." All three Lightwood siblings chimed at once. Something about their tone told Clary that this was the case for most holidays.

"It's weird." Sighed Alec, tapping his fork against his plate, his mouth a thin line. 'This is the first Christmas we've had without Hodge." Isabelle, Jace and Max nodded in agreement. Clary and Magnus looked to each other, both unaware of what to say. Honestly, how does one respond in a situation like this?

A moment of silence settled over the room and Clary picked at her cuticles and thought of her mother. Max spoke up, breaking the spell.

"Can we eat now?" he asked timidly, glancing sideways at his sister. Isabelle bit back a laugh and nodded her head.

"Yes we can." She told him, reaching for the large platter, which, after she lifted the top, contained a rotisserie chicken. "Merry Christmas to all!" she exclaimed, her face lighting up.

As Clary accepted the enormous platter from her, one thought rang in her head.

"And to all a good night."


End file.
